six months in
Posted on December 9th, 2009
It’s now December, six months in from when I started the PhD in July, and (most probably) another five years until I finish. It has been an interesting academic road so far. For myself I have been buoyed by my supervisor’s comments regarding the work that I have done, but, I am not resting on these comments. My writing is still far from academically perfect however it is getting better. The referencing can be tightened up…
Resource collection and collating is ongoing as I work through separate topics and need extension on what I have already collected. All this will contribute to the Literature Review which will serve as the basis for introducing the new area of research that I will be covering – this will be done in about six months time. I’m thinking of the areas that I need to explore next. Obviously motivation of students is a major area of focus as is the inclusive “community” basis of participation in brass and concert bands. Topics have expanded to include psychology areas and other factors determining the learning of music.
In terms of research focus I have made the decision to bring my website (which surrounds “the blog”) into more of an overall research area so that all pages are focused on my research question. I realize this will be a big job to do over the holidays but since the basic structure of the website is easy to manage it shouldn’t be to hard to do.
Aside from this I can safely say that I am enjoying the research process, the first six months hasn’t daunted me that much, and I feel I am on the right track with this PhD.
There will be more to follow…
…searching the depths
Posted on September 22nd, 2009
If I were to describe myself in terms of a researcher I would say that I enjoy the research process, in that I am beginning to put the puzzle together. And the PhD with regards to the literature review is very much like a puzzle. What started off as a broad topic has suddenly become a number of small topics, all interlinked, but leading to the same point. I have collected most of the side pieces of the puzzle (see my Research page if you don’t believe me!), and am now putting together the middle pieces with their myriads of colours and patterns – to put the project in a metaphor.
Needless to say that Google is my friend, and by using more focused search patterns through Google and Google Scholar I have found that even the obscure is available – to a certain extent. Case in point would be one of the more recent references I have found:
Goldman, H., & Lowis, M. J. (2007). An Investigation into the Respective Influences of Nature and Nurture on Musical Ability. Korean Journal of Thinking and Problem Solving, 17(2), 43-56.
…as a side point it just goes to show there is a journal for just about every field of human endeavor you could possibly think of!
This particular article is obviously useful as the sub-topic I am looking at at the moment is on nature/nurture with regards to music learning with emphasis on motivation of students to learn music – me being me thought I had hit the jackpot finding this article however finding it and getting it are two different matters altogether.
To cut the story short, normally I would have used my universities very extensive database of journal links and eventually downloaded them. With this one, after initially finding that the home site it was based on was written in Korean and therefore I couldn’t find an obvious way to download it, I went to The British Library website where I had to buy the article and download it – it’s just one of the things you have to do sometimes.
Still, it is just one piece of a very extensive puzzle which is gradually coming together, even at this early stage. Focusing the finding of articles is a skill I have to practice, as with the writing up of content, which is a process I also enjoy. I hope to post a little more regularly on PhD progress.
questions to ponder
Posted on August 16th, 2009
I’ve now been officially enrolled in my PhD program for a month now, and have started framing (with the help of my supervisior), the shape of my research question. But aside from this process of framing questions, I have been thinking about some other questions to ask of my resources which will serve as a “questioning framework”. These being:
- What do I want to know about whom?
- What do I know? And,
- Where is the key?
I think, when I am working on article reviews, which help in synthesising my literature review, that by working under the framework of these three questions it will help me when seeking and teasing out themes and ideas within my readings.
So far I feel I am taking academic “baby-steps” in that my work output has been small, but in balance I have been collecting resources for more than a year in preparation. The work output will obviously be increasing in the future.
In terms of my own research I think that I may be onto something. For finding a gap in the literature on the subject of learning in community brass and concert bands by middle-school aged students (or something to that effect) has not been as hard as I expected however that is not to say that someone has tweaked onto this question. In fact after my last meeting with my supervisior, there are probably about three PhD topics buried within my questioning. But I think one PhD with my original question will be enough.
The process of answering my question will be very interesting, and putting the research together with my (anticipated) data results will hopefully answer the questions even further – and probably lead to new questions. Which might be answered later in further work. I’m looking forward to this process and applying the above questions to my work.
I’ve started
Posted on July 27th, 2009
…and I can’t believe it! Although I still have to get some things organised in my life like getting the total health/study/work/life balance right. Having allocated two days to work a week it has been a little hard to get started. But my supervisor has given my some tasks for the month including plenty of book reading and note-taking. Currently I’m reading “Doctorates Downunder” (see reference below) which is a book designed for doctoral students in Australia and New Zealand. However, my Endnote databases are working (and growing), I’ve caught myself thinking odd questions about community bands and learning, and my head is operating in a new direction – in a totally literal sense of course!
I mentioned my Endnote databases (and what a wonderful piece of software it is). I’ve now separated my primary and secondary sources and established a database for each. On this website I’ve made a significant upgrade to my Research Page to reflect the separating of sources. While I still have lots of references to plow through, the separating of the database will make things easier to manage. Last week I also bought myself some new software called “Notebook” for the Macintosh which should prove, in time to be a useful research tool.
Anyway, I will endeavor to keep myself updated and use this blog to highlight bit more of what I’m up to.
Reference:
Denholm, C. J., & Evans, T. D. (2006). Doctorates downunder : keys to successful doctoral study in Australia and New Zealand. Camberwell, Vic.: ACER Press.
the next life journey starts…
Posted on July 12th, 2009
I was going to make the next blog post much like the previous two – a sort of mini essay on some aspect of my current reading. But since I’m only part of the way through the book Thought and Language by Lev Sevenovich Vygotsky (or Vygotskiï) it wouldn’t make sense to write something until I have finished the book or I’m a good way through it. But I am finding this book, and some extension articles I’ve found, very interesting…
The real reason I’m writing to day is to just say that my academic journey is about to start again. I have received a place at Monash Universtiy to commence a PhD in Music Education where I will be looking at the ways school-aged students learn while participating in community bands and school ensembles, and how one style of learning can benefit the other – or something to this effect.
This topic is of interest to me as it was sparked by some aspects I touched on in my last Masters project where I wrote up the development of a community training band. Since I finished this paper I have been building resources in the hope that I would be able to continue further research in this area. I’m also hoping through my research that there might be a way where community music can be used as some kind of extension activity for school music students.
I’m under no illusion about the amount of work that has to be done. But my reasoning is that while my brain is active and wanting activity, and while I have the time then why not? I am fairly sure that I will enjoy the research side of things and working to bring various parts of research together. So I’ve decided to undertake this “journey” to achieve another life goal which I hope will end up making a difference.
social music and school music
Posted on July 2nd, 2009
“…Both rural and urban community life can be enriched and bettered measurably by setting up and maintaining a variety of musical activities. And the school music program should find much of its vitality in sustaining them. Musical organizations that exist largely for their own sakes or for general recreative purposes, such as choirs, orchestras, small ensembles, music clubs, study groups, groups active in promoting concert courses, and the like, can serve a valuable social purpose. One of the principal aims of the music program should be to further such organizations by interesting the pupils in them.” (Mursell, 1936, p. 11)1
For those of us who work in the music profession the above statement by James L. Mursell is probably nothing new, nor is is that surprising. Given the context in which Mursell was writing, in 1930’s America where people were actively working on where the public school music program should be headed, the above statement can be seen as bold and forward thinking. Mursell was not alone in this kind of thinking. There is a body of writing from this time in America (and in further decades) which talk about the role a school music teacher could/should play in the local community by setting up musical activities, and also the role community music can play in the lives of school musicians afterthey leave school (Dykema, 1934; Pitts, 1944; Richter, 1938; Williamson, 1931; Wilson, 1935).
I’m not totally discounting the view of Mursell (and others) that music teachers should not involve themselves in community music activities. However, in the decades in which the mentioned writers were living, in many towns and cities the only trained musicians were those who were from the teaching profession. In these times people of many different backgrounds are community music facilitators and leaders and indeed, this mix of backgrounds brings greater variety and experience to community music activities. As the forward to a 2005 Victorian Health study on the health benefits of community arts states: “The strength of the community arts process is its ability to bring diverse people together around a common project and sense of purpose.” (VicHealth, 2005).
Mursell was really trying to highlight the social side of music making through his chapter, and from this it can be acknowledged that it is this social side that can influence learning within groups through the exchange of ideas and experience. A recent study from Australia titled Sound Links: Community Music in Australia, through various case studies also acknowledges the social and educational side of music making in groups (Bartleet, B.-L., Dunbar-Hall, P., Letts, R., & Schippers, H, 2009)2. Again this is notwithstanding the role of experienced facilitators and leaders in community music making.
The body of writing dealing with the social side of school and community music making, the role of music teachers and community music leaders, and the nature of learning in groups is large, and growing as more researchers take an active role in writing about community music – and this amount of literature is obviously too large for me to mention here (please see my research page for a list of resources I have collected on these and other topics related to my (proposed) research). I find these writings fascinating because of the parallels with today (one would hope that things have changed) (and I sincerely hope I have made sense in my own writings!). By looking back we can see that the educators of times past clearly had views that would not be incompatible with today’s thinking, but we live in a different society were educational priorities are constantly changing. Perhaps it is time to start bringing more schools and students back into the community and let them see the benefits of what community arts has to offer.
footnotes:
1) For a link to download the book The Thirty-Fifth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education: Part II: Music Education where the chapter by James Mursell appears, please click here. (This book was found through a Google search).
2) For a link to download the Sound Links: Community Music in Australia report, please click here.
references:
Bartleet, B.-L., Dunbar-Hall, P., Letts, R., & Schippers, H. (2009). Sound Links: Community Music in Australia. Brisbane, Qld.: Griffith University, Queensland Conservatorium.
Dykema, P. W. (1934). Music in Community Life. Music Supervisors’ Journal, 20(4), 34-35, 73-74.
Mursell, J. L. (1936). Principles of Music Education. In G. M. Whipple (Ed.), The Thirty-Fifth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education: Part II: Music Education (pp. 3-16). Bloomington, Illinois: Public School Publishing Company.
Pitts, L. B. (1944). Widening Horizons for Music Education. Music Educators Journal, 30(4), 17-55.
Richter, A. (1938). Music and the Forgotten Pupil. Music Educators Journal, 25(2), 19-22.
VicHealth. (2005). Creative Connections: Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing through Community Arts Participation. Resource Centre Retrieved May 11th, 2009, from http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/en/Resource-Centre/Publications-and-Resources/Mental-health-and-wellbeing/Social-connection/Creative-Connections.aspx
Williamson, J. F. (1931). A Challenge. Music Supervisors’ journal, 18(2), 33-39.
Wilson, E. M. (1935). Why School Music Does Not “Carry Over”. Music Educators Journal, 22(2), 31.
…of historical interest and parallel inquiry
Posted on June 30th, 2009
Over the course of my readings I feel that it is something resembling detective work. You read something, find an interesting reference, then seek to find the article/book/quote. Normally, Google will hopefully find all, and it sometimes does. But for other more obscure references there are always libraries who hold collections of old journals and other news worthy items (of their day).
Case in point…
While reading Trevor Herbert’s The British Brass Band: A Musical and Social History, in a chapter contributed by Duncan Bythell dealing with the expansion of brass bands in Australia and New Zealand, I came across one such reference. There is a section in the chapter highlighting the detachment of brass bands from the educational system (Bythell, 2000), and a mention of a scathing editorial (by 1929 standards) written by the (then) editor of the Australiasian Band and Orchestra News.
Me being me eventually found the editorial. I am aware, as I have mentioned, than many state libraries hold collections of old journals and other such material. My first port of call was the State Library of Victoria who unfortunately only had a limited number of volumes of the said journal, but referred me onto the State Library of New South Wales, of which did own all the volumes. They were kind enough to photocopy me the editorial and post it down to me.
Now that I have given a brief run-down on finding obscure references, why did I find this editorial so fascinating enough to seek to find it?
My proposed research is on how school age students learn while participating in community music ensembles. I personally regard community music groups such as brass and concert bands as perfect examples of “informal education” – that is education that is conducted outside of formal settings like schools and universities (McGivney, 1999; Smith, 1999). So if school age students are participating, it could be assumed that they are learning as they are playing music they would not otherwise play in school, and they would be surrounded by people who are of a different age and standard than they are and who are able to pass on various ranges of experiences as musicians. This informal learning, which is probably unnoticed by the students is coupled with their formal learning in schools.
The editorial takes a critical view that the headmasters of the day are only interested in providing the basics – and the editor laments the fact that bandmasters of local municipal bands are not allowed to enter schools in order to set up school bands (Australiasian Band and Orchestra News, 1929). I admire the editors viewpoint on this matter, but one can’t fail to notice the self-interest of the brass band movement in order to gain new streams of recruits for brass bands. One thing about this editorial is that like some of the literature of today, there is the message that participation in music making activities is beneficial for all (especially brass bands!).
In a recent SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of brass bands, published on the Music Council of Australia website, the contributors make a point of saying that “Increasing demand for academic achievement in schools, through the assignment of greater homework, limits students’ opportunities for involvement in an essential level of instrument practice, community ensembles or other music development opportunities” (Sheppard, Rugers & Bedwell, 2008). In my mind there is no reason to suggest why schools and community music can’t work together in order to provide the best musical outcome for a music student which is enhanced learning opportunities (de Korte, 2007). It must be hoped that greater co-operation can happen in the future.
But this is part of the challenge…
References:
Australiasian Band and Orchestra News. (1929). The Editor’s Baton: Bringing up the Boy to the Band [Editorial]. The Australiasian Band and Orchestra News, XXV(2), 1, 3.
Bythell, D. (2000). The Brass Band in the Antipodes: The Transplantation of British Popular Culture. In T. Herbert (Ed.), The British Brass Band: A Musical and Social History (2nd ed., pp. 217-244). New York: Oxford University Press.
de Korte, J. (2007). The Southern Area Training Band: From Concept to Creation. Unpublished Masters Project, RMIT University, Melbourne.
McGivney, V. (1999). Informal learning in the community : a trigger for change and development Leicester: National Institute of Adult Continuing Education.
Sheppard, D., Rugers, F., & Bedwell, R. (2008, September 3rd, 2008). SWOT Analysis of brass bands. Music Council of Australia Retrieved December 17th, 2008, from http://www.mca.org.au/web/component/option,com_kb/task,article/article,124/
Smith, M. K. (1999, February 5th, 2009). Informal Learning. the encyclopaedia of informal education Retrieved August 1st, 2008, from http://www.infed.org/biblio/inf-lrn.htm
the blog – the 1st post!
Posted on June 27th, 2009
..it’s taken me a while to bring this online. In my own design too!
While I am still learning the Wordpress interface, I believe that I have learnt enough to try to work it by myself. So here it is – “the blog”.
I plan to use this blog to highlight research interests of mine in conjunction with the research page of my website (which is basically a huge bibliography of collected resources).
I sincerely hope you enjoy reading this blog, and commenting if you will. I’m not sure how frequently I will post but for the moment – here it is.
Please let me know if some parts of this don’t work and I will try to fix it as soon as I can.
